Dallas Stars Blog

Heika: Hard as it is to believe, NHL has bigger messes to deal with than Stars lending situation

Dallas Morning News Stars writer Mike Heika chatted with fans on Thursday and answered questions about the Dallas Stars. Here are some highlights:

What are your thoughts on Larsen and his game? Is he really our only top D prospect? He seems to be smart with the puck, but he looks so skinny and fragile. Do you think he will be NHL ready next season?

I like him a lot. He is their top defense prospect, but they do have two kids drafted in 2010 (Patrik Nemeth and John Klingberg) who could turn out to be pretty good. Both have been invited to camp for Team Sweden’s World Junior team.

As for Larsen, he’s incredibly smart, he’s got a great shot, he can skate and he’s got a great attitude. He is skinny, but I think he’ll be able to bulk up a little. I swear he’s grown two inches in the last year or two, so he’s got to fill out on that frame now.

I do think he will be in the NHL next season.
How do you see things ending with the Brad Richards situation?

It’s so hard to guess right now.

I think even if the lenders keep the team, they will make an offer to Richards. I just think it makes sense to at least make an effort to keep him. The lenders won’t be paying the contract (probably) and it would seem to make the team more valuable if Richards is around and the team has a strong playoff run.

I will tell you that the stability of the franchise will play a role in whether or not Richards wants to sign. He really was affected by the situation in Tampa Bay that forced his trade, and he doesn’t want to go through that again.

So, we’ll see. They keep saying they have time to get this done before the Feb. 28 trade deadline, but I can tell you I have a little bit of panic starting to grow. At some point, somebody needs to take control of this. Let’s hope they do.

Is there anything the NHL can do to pressure the Stars lenders to get this sale on a different path?

Gary Bettman and Bill Daly are involved in the process every day, and I believe they are trying to keep the Stars happy, keep the lenders happy and get a good price to help franchise values for the NHL.

Now, you could say that’s part of the problem and part of the delay, but we don’t really know what they are telling the lenders.

Bottom line, there are bigger messes in the NHL (Coyotes, Islanders, Thrashers) than this one, so they can only do so much and spend so much time trying to get it fixed.
What is happening with the lenders, and hireing a team president?

They are very quiet right now, and even the Stars are having a hard time getting answers.

What I believe is happening is the executive committee of the lenders has to agree to hire the president and then agree to possibly own the team for the remainder of the season. To do that, they have to make financial commitments that could add up to $20 million or more. So, here’s the meeting. `OK, we have all voted to keep the team, please wire $5 million each into our account by the end of the day.’ That sort of makes the decision a little tougher.

Plus, I’m not sure what kind of contract Tony Tavares will sign. Does it have a golden parachute in case a new owner doesn’t hire him? Does he get some sort of bonus if he helps sell the team? Does he just get a straight fee and only stay through the end of the summer?

It’s a complicated process. I thought for sure they had decided to hire Tavares, but right now even that decision is in a holding pattern.